BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Mark DeSaulnier, Chair
Date of Hearing: June 23, 2010 2009-2010 Regular
Session
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Fiscal:Yes
Urgency: No
Bill No: AB 2468
Author: De Leon
Version: As Amended March 24, 2010
SUBJECT
Lactation accommodation: workplace designation.
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature create a special designation for
employers who exceed Labor Code requirements for providing a
healthy environment for mothers who wish to express breast milk?
PURPOSE
To promote workplace practices that support mothers who wish to
breastfeed their children.
ANALYSIS
Existing law provides that:
a) Every employer shall provide a reasonable amount of
unpaid break time to accommodate an employee to express
breast milk. The break time shall, if possible, run
concurrently with any break time already provided to the
employee.
b) Every employer must make reasonable efforts to provide
the employee with the use of a room or location, other than
a toilet stall, in close proximity to the employee's work
area. Specifies that the room or location may include the
place where the employee normally works if it otherwise
meets the requirements of this section.
c) An employer who violates any of the lactation
accommodation requirements shall be subject to a $100 civil
penalty for each violation, but specifies that such a
violation is not a misdemeanor.
Existing law also specifies that an employer does not have to
provide break time if to do so would seriously disrupt the
operations of the employer.
This bill allows an employer to use the designation
"Breast-Feeding Mother-Friendly Workplace" if the LC determines
that the policy submitted by the employer provides for all of
the following:
a) Flexible work scheduling, including the scheduling of
breaks and allowing work patterns that provide time for the
expression of breast milk;
b) A convenient, sanitary, safe and private location, other
than a toilet stall, for privacy while breast-feeding or
expressing breast milk;
c) A convenient, clean and safe water source with
facilities for washing hands and rinsing pumping equipment
located in or near the private location, as specified; and
d) A convenient hygienic refrigerator in the workplace for
the temporary storage of the breast milk.
This bill also specifies that the penalty provisions for
lactation accommodation do not apply to the "Breast-Feeding
Mother-Friendly Workplace" designation.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
According to the author's office, this bill seeks to encourage
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
employers to provide supportive work environments for new
mothers who choose to continue to breast-feeding after
returning to work.
The author also states that various studies show that
breast-feeding significantly reduces children's risk for
obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma,
allergies, and gastrointestinal, urinary and respiratory tract
infections. There are also significant health benefits for
breast-feeding mothers, including reduced risk for type 2
diabetes, ovarian cancer and breast cancer. The author also
notes that, for employers, the potential benefits of providing
a supportive work environment for breast-feeding mothers
include reduced worker turnover, shorter maternity leave,
lower absenteeism due to a sick child, increased productivity
among employees with new children, and lower/fewer insurance
claims.
These conclusions were also reached in a 2007 California
Department of Public Health (CDPH) study on breastfeeding
habits among California's new mothers. That study found
significant and measurable benefits to breastfeeding infants
exclusively, but noted significant barriers to new mothers,
particularly in minority communities, exclusively feeding
their children breast milk. The study noted in particular the
challenges new mothers face in the workplace, and the study
suggested that the state encourage "all businesses,
educational sites, and others to promote a
breastfeeding-friendly environment for their employees."
2. Other State Legislation
Currently, Florida, North Dakota, Texas and Washington allow
employers to use the designation a "Baby Friendly or "Infant
Friendly" or "Mother-Friendly" on their promotional materials
include.
AB 2468 is very similar to an existing law in Texas. Texas law
provides for the use of a "mother-friendly" designation for
businesses who voluntarily have written policies supporting
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
worksite breast-feeding. As of 2008, there were more than 100
Mother-Friendly Worksites in Texas. They include a diverse
range of businesses such as retail stores, schools, hospitals,
law offices, and corporations.
The state of Oregon implemented a Breastfeeding Mother
Friendly Employer Project (Project) as part of their effort to
create a community that supports breastfeeding. The Oregon
program awards a certificate of recognition to employers who
create a specific workplace plan to promote breastfeeding,
communicate that plan to the employees, and set aside a
specific place for breastfeeding. More than 60 employers have
received the certification in Oregon, covering more than
71,000 employees. About half of those employees are employed
in some capacity in the public sector.
3. Proponent Arguments :
The California WIC Association states that women with children
are the fastest growing segment of the workforce, and that
forty-nine percent of working women in California with
newborns return to the workforce before their newborn is the
age of one. The Association believes that breastfeeding is an
important and realistic need for many working mothers in
California and the lack of lactation support services in the
workplace can have broad fiscal and public health
ramifications for employers and employees alike.
The California Academy of Family Physicians states that
breastfeeding is the physiological norm for both mothers and
their children, and that breastfeeding offers health benefits
not available from milk substitutes. The Academy also notes
that this bill encourages employers to provide supportive work
environments for new mothers without imposing mandates on
employers.
4. Opponent Arguments :
None on file.
5. Prior Legislation :
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AB 513 (De Leon) of 2009, vetoed by the Governor, would have
required health plans and those health insurers that provide
maternity benefits to provide coverage for lactation
consultation with an international board certified lactation
consultant and the provision of, or the rental of, a breast
pump. AB 513 was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
AB 514 (De Leon) of 2009 would have amended existing law
relating to lactation accommodation by employers, by among
other things, requiring an employer to provide a 20-minute
paid rest period during each four-hour work period to
accommodate employee desiring to express breast milk for the
employee's infant child and specified that this rest period
shall immediately precede or follow any rest period to which
the employee is entitled by law. AB 514 was held under
submission by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 1025 (Frommer) Statutes of 2001, Chapter 821, required
employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time and to make
reasonable efforts to provide the use of an appropriate room
for an employee to express breast milk for the employee's
infant child.
SUPPORT
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, District
IX (California)
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Commission on the Status of Women
California District of the American Academy of Pediatrics
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Medical Association
California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing
Committee
California WIC Association
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project Los Angeles County
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
OPPOSITION
Hearing Date: June 23, 2010 AB 2468
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
None on file.
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations